Righteous Illegitimates: White and Red
by Blissful Abyss
Summary: Ruby Rose lives a simple life with her sister in her little home town, trying to keep her head down and her nose out of trouble. But when she gets on the wrong side of a feared and dangerous figure, she finds herself to be whisked away by a murderous thief who goes by Snow White. But Ruby can't help but slowly fall for her princess with a blade.
1. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

I guess you could describe me in different ways, but if you wanted to describe me in one word, you'd find it more than just challenging. Waiting by Yang's motorbike now while she finishes her hours at the diner in town, I try to keep myself occupied. I watch the neighbourhood kids run across the road, dodging cars but only just, and now they laugh at the faces of people passing by and laugh at the probability of death. Yang and I used to do stuff like that too. Nearly everyone in this run down town of ours did. I glance at the diner's clock and see that it's six-thirty already. I've been out here for an hour in this blazing heat, and Yang's inside with air-conditioning and drinks as cold as the Antarctic. But at the same time she deals with her group of creeps that come for more than a burger milkshake combo.

I breathe out a sigh, sweating like crazy even though I'm wearing a normal white shirt and black jeans with black sneakers and my bright red hooded jacket. I literally have nothing else to do. I turn my head to see some weirdoes staring at me from across the road outside the town's bar as if I was a lamb ready to be slaughtered and served to them as a feast. I put my hands in my jacket pockets, and I hold my knife in my left pocket, and my gun in my right as I try my best to scowl. The knife is silver with a black and red handle, small and sharp enough to slice a grown man in half which belonged to my mother. The gun is an average size, with a comfortable grip and scarlet red and silver which used to be my father's trusty gun. If I could scowl properly, I think I'd look mildly terrifying. But I catch my scowling expression in the reflection of the motorbike's windshield. I look more like I was pouting instead of glaring at them. I frown and glance up to see them heading back into the bar, and I find myself sighing in relief, stomach unknotting itself even though I didn't know it was knotted in the first place.

But now a white car pulls up in front of the bar, with pale blue handles and matching fold-in roof, the tyres black and beautifully polished. Actually, the entire car is polished up, and most definitely too clean to be a local car. The windows and windshield are tinted black. Someone steps out of the car, slowly and with poise and elegance. My heart starts to race. The person is a girl that looks as if she belongs in a storybook. Her skin is pale like Heaven's clouds, and her hair looks as though it was sculpted from fresh snow in a side ponytail. She's wearing a simple white dress with frills that reach her knees and silver heels and a dark blue handbag. She has a jacket on as well, reaching her hips and buttoned up, white with gold buttons and blood red trimming.

She walks with her head held high, bag held in her grip tightly and surprisingly not sweating. She walks towards the doors of the salon with swaying hips. But she stops when she stands right in front of the door. She turns her head to me slowly. Her eyes are sharp and made of ice with a dash of summer blue, slightly narrowed at me. I freeze but stare back at her. She smirks at me. My face flushes red. But now she shakes her head at me, the smirk still on her face as she pushes the door open and slamming it behind her. And for some reason, my heart won't stop racing.

"Hey there, sweet lil' sister of mine!" Yang laughs, wrapping her arms around my waist as she spins me around. I yell out in shock as Yang laughs loudly at my trauma. When she sets me down I glare at her darkly.

"What the hell was _that_ for?" I grumble, rubbing my waist gingerly as it starts to throb in pain. Yang rolls her eyes at me, bright and violet, contrasting with her wild blonde hair that's tied back in a high ponytail, her pale pink diner dress ruffled and her apron covered in food. She ruffles my hair playfully, a wide grin on her face as she taps her breast pocket.

"Well, thanks to my gorgeous charm and humour, I was able to earn like fifty dollars in tips today, so we're going out to eat tonight!" Yang replies, excited as she puffs her chest out with pride.

"What about the broken alarm on the front door?" I ask.

"Eh, I'll sort it out next week when I get paid. Come on, Ruby," Yang pouts, puppy eyes and all, "we need to treat ourselves for once." I sigh heavily, shaking my head as my line of sight focuses on the white car. But now I see the girl climb in, a dull expression on her face as she closes the door behind her.

"Well, what do you say?" Yang asks, waving her hand in my face. I blink in shock as I watch the girl drive away with screeching tired, speeding down the lane before sharply turning the corner.

"Ruby?" Yang asks impatiently, snapping her fingers. I look at her, as she looks at me with hopeful eyes. I could tell from her slightly drooping shoulders and her faint bags under her eyes that she worked hard to get her tips. I sigh heavily again.

"Fine, fine. I guess we can go out tonight." I reply uncertainly. Yang's eyes widen at me as she squeals, hugging me tightly whilst jumping up and down with me in her arms. I don't even bother to stop her.

* * *

I wipe the blood from my blade carefully, car pulled up outside the town's most sophisticated restaurant named "Valessence," a name stupid enough to not be taken seriously. Tonight's the night. I glance at my mother's pocket watch, silver trimmed with diamonds from my no good father's mining company. It's nearly eight o'clock, the sky blessed by twilight but with street lights still lit. I look through my window to see Torchwick, a man who goes by the alias Sweet Tooth, with his ginger fringe over his eye leaving a single bright green eye visible with a small white hat on his head at a slant. He's dressed all in white with a red tie and his black cane that doubles as a shotgun, swinging it in the crook of his elbow slightly as he strolls down the street and towards the restaurant, two men dressed in black on both sides. They walk up to the entrance and the men open both doors for him like the idiots they are. I can't help but be envious.

I lean back in my seat and sigh, smoothing out the creases in my dress, the dress being periwinkle with white lace and chiffon sleeves. I'm wearing my laced up white boots that go up to my knees with two inch heels that I absentmindedly clicked together. I smile to myself bitterly. There's no place like home. I placed my blade in my smaller black bag, and tie the bag to my wrist for safe keeping. I check my reflection in the front mirror. Pale faced with pink cheeks and red lips, I think I look pretty decent, my hair tied in a bun with a few bangs to frame my face. I look out of my window again.

I see two girls walk towards the restaurant. The first one that draws my eye is tall with gold for hair that flows around her dramatically. She wears a low cut black dress with a split down her left leg and matching heels. Her eyes are violet and fierce, as if she was willing to cut you down with a glare. But the other girl is different to her. She's smaller than the other, short hair made from charcoal and dipped in blood, and eyes as silver as the blade in my bag. She's wearing a black and red chequered shirt and black jeans with matching boots, and the bright red jacket that I saw her in earlier today. She has her hands in her pockets, and I see the blonde girl sharply elbow her and say something to her. The girl in red simply narrows her eyes at her and reluctantly takes her hands out. I can't help but bite back a smile as the two of them shuffle inside.

But I see a black car pull up from behind me, and I see a man with thinning white hair and grey eyes climb out dressed in grey. I can my blood boil dangerously as I crack my knuckles. I watch the man slowly make his way towards the front door whilst looking over his shoulders hesitantly. He knows that this night could most likely be his last. I open my car door and climb out of my car and slam the door behind me. I roll my shoulders back and raise my chin up, eyes forward and back straight. I can't let anything distract me now.

I have a job to do.


	2. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

The restaurant is most definitely fit for aristocrats of sorts, with dark blue walls and bronze coloured beams lined up around the walls with fancy carvings in them. The tables are decorated with cream cloths that drape over and gather on the floor a little bit, with a single silver candelabra set on top of them all, all of them lit and dimly glowing despite the fact a few of the wall lights are on. The floor is bronze coloured and soft despite the fact I'm wearing steel toed boots. _I'm_ absolutely awestruck. _Yang_ is purely flabbergasted.

"Whoa. I didn't think it'd be so... fancy." Yang says thoughtfully as people turn their heads to us as we sit in the far corner of the restaurant. She frowns at me as though severely disappointed and sighs sadly.

"And you're dressed as if you're ready to fight someone." Yang pouts at me, arms crossed at me. I can't help but roll my eyes at her this time.

"All of my dresses are too small for me." I retort. Yang gasps in shock horror.

"It's because of your boobs, isn't it? I knew you'd fall under the boob curse sooner or later!" Yang exclaims. I shush her to be quiet as others start to stare at us with narrowed eyes and disapproving scowls. But Yang laughs it off as she leans back in her seat. I can feel my cheeks going redder by the second as Yang starts to calm down.

"Stop _embarrassing_ me!" I plead. Yang grins at me widely.

"Maybe you should have worn a dress tonight." Yang replies smugly. I stick my tongue out at her as I reach for the menu in front of me. Yang laughs as she picks up her own menu in front of her. I glance over the meals and I can feel my mouth watering slowly. But my mouth quickly dries up when I look at the prices. The average meal costs at least seventy dollars each. I glance up at Yang to see her looking absolutely distressed, and my stomach sinks heavily as I realise we're both thinking the same thing: she won't be able to afford it.

"I didn't know food could be so _expensive_ here." Yang laughs, her chuckle strained as she rubs the back of her neck gingerly. I raise an eyebrow.

"We're in the most _expensive_ restaurant in town." I mumble. Yang sighs.

"I'll figure out a way to make this cheap." She declares under her breath.

"I doubt it." I grumble.

"Ruby?" A voice asks from behind me. I know that voice. I turn my head to see Jaune Arc, a boy with messy sun blonde hair and blue eyes that were appropriate for a blonde person and two years older than me. He's wearing a white long sleeved button up shirt, black waistcoat with matching trousers, shoes and tie. I've only known Jaune for two years, but he's most definitely a friend that I intend to keep close to me. He looks surprised to see me. In all honesty, I'm surprised to see him too.

"Jaune! Wait, you work here?" I ask. Jaune nods at me.

"My uncle owns this place. Why are you two here tonight?" Jaune asks me. I quickly narrow my eyes at Yang who then flinches at me.

"_Yang_ here thought it would be a good idea to eat at a restaurant where she can't afford even one meal." I reply, shaking my head slightly.

"Really... wait right there." Jaune quickly walks towards the bar where a man with dark hair stands. He goes behind the bar, and I can see the two of them talking quickly, Jaune quickly glancing at Yang and I whilst the man points at us. Yang leans forward over the table.

"What did you do?" Yang whispers in awe.

"Ain't got the slightest idea." I whisper back, looking around to avoid the man's eyes. I see a lot of different people here. In the other corner I see a man called Sweet Tooth, although no one knows his real name, cigarette in hand as he blows smoke obnoxiously, his piercing green eyes narrowed as others around him start to cower, ginger hair styled over his eyes. I put my hand in my pocket and hold onto my gun. The last time I remember seeing him, he swore to see me bleed to death. I see Mr Schnee, with his thinning hair and timid eyes as he sits near the back exit, nervously glancing around, adjusting his tie, looking as if he's expecting a knife in his throat. I heard today that three of his finest guards were killed in a bar today. I understand why he's so paranoid.

But I feel my heart stop as the girl from earlier on strolls in, looking powerful and beautiful dressed in blue. A lot of people turn and stare whilst others blank her out. And I watch her sit at the table close to the table I'm sat at with Yang. I can't help but feel blessed by an angel. She glances at the menu for a while, eyes focused. But then she glances up at me, as if she knew that if she looked just to her left she'd see a common looking girl not too far away. We stare at each other, but this time I can tell that I've gone white. She gives me a small smirk as I feel my heart flip. I see Jaune bounce back to us, a triumphant grin on his face.

"I just spoke to my manager about your meal, so you can eat as much as you want and not pay for it. Just make sure you two have a good time, 'kay?" Jaune asks the two of us. Yang bounces in her seat and claps merrily as my mouth drops.

"Wait, how the _hell_ did you do that?" I ask, shocked.

"It's being docked from my wages, it's no big deal." Jaune replies with a shrug of his shoulders. My eyes widen at him in disbelief of him doing something so generous yet so stupid.

"_Jaune_!" I hiss, not wanting people to know that Yang and I were getting special treatment. Jaune smiles and shakes his head at me.

"Look, _regardless_ of what you choose, I'll earn twice as much back in a few hours. It's fine." He adds.

"But-" I start.

"No takies-backies!" Jaune gabbles quickly, rushing off suddenly to another table before I can finish my sentence about how I couldn't just indirectly take his wages. I sigh as I turn my attention to Yang, who is now looking at the menu with such a sparkle to her eyes it makes me want to kick her in the shins.

"You better give him those fifty dollars as his tip, you know." I snap, picking up my own menu. She thinks I don't know now, but I can tell that Yang is grinning at me as my cheeks go pink in embarrassment.

* * *

"Is there anything else you would like, ma'am?" My waiter asks me, with short brown hair and dense blue eyes that weren't as dense as his skull. I shake my head at him.

"I'm fine, thank you." I reply, taking a sip of my wine that I had ordered. I stare at the glass as my waiter leaves; staring at the wine and how even though it was called white wine is wasn't exactly white. I set my glass down and look around. Torchwick is not too far away, and he glances at me. A snide smirk on his face appears as he tips his hat towards me in a mutual respect. I simply look away, because there was no way in hell that I would consider him an ally. The two girls now look far more at ease, the blonde one ordering a long list of orders with the girl in red scowling at her, only to order something small for herself from the blonde waiter that is serving. I see him look at her in a way that easily shows his willingness to help them, and the love he has for the red girl is so obvious that it even causes me to pity him. But I see my father, the owner of the diamond mine company that run across the country sit in the corner like a coward. If he wasn't so lenient about letting his guards have the day off today, maybe today wouldn't have been their last when they tried to play with me in more ways than one. I still have the bruise over my thigh that the third man left on me. But it doesn't matter: they'll both be meeting in hell by the end of tonight.

"Excuse me, blondie." Torchwick calls out to the blonde haired waiter. The boy stops in his tracks outside the kitchen doors and turns to him, looking terrified. The general chatter that had filled the restaurant has come to a sudden halt. The boy points to himself.

"M-Me, sir?" He asks timidly. Torchwick nods at him, a cruel smirk on his face. I've only just noticed that his bodyguards are standing by his table.

"Bring me some coffee if you don't mind. Black. No sugars." Torchwick commands. I can't help but frown. He's never struck me as the coffee lover, in all fairness. The boy nods quickly before rushing off into the kitchen area. I hear sounds of cups clattering against each other nervously, spoons dropping, and then the boy comes back, black coffee in hand and setting it down on Torchwick's table with shaking hands, pale faced and obviously terrified. I watch Torchwick take his cigarette out of his mouth and have a sip of his coffee, eyes closed as everyone in the room collectively hold their breath. He opens his eyes, sharp and harsh.

"I asked you for coffee. I did ask for coffee, didn't I?" Torchwick asks him in a low voice. I can very easily tell that he's not particularly happy with his coffee. The boy swallows hard.

"Y-Yes sir?" He replies. Torchwick stands up slowly, and the next thing I know he throws the coffee in the boys face, who stumbles back whilst yelling, his hands over his face. I try not to wince. That was too cruel, even for Torchwick's standards.

"They why, may I ask, did you serve me this shit?" He asks in a disgusted tone, cigarette back in his mouth. The boy moves his hands, face bright red as he starts to tremble more.

"I-I can get you another coffee if you want-!" The boy begs as he backs away towards the kitchen doors. Torchwick snaps his fingers as his guards move towards him.

"You've just ruined my evening. Take him out, boys." He commands. Usually at this time everyone else would turn away and ignore what was going to happen, as if they were never there and would never hear the screams that would come out of the boy's mouth. Even I turn my head away to brace myself. But then there are audible gaps of shock of terror.

"Ruby?!" The boy asks in terror. I look up to see the girl in her red jacket, hands in her pockets as she scowls at the two large men that tower over her fearlessly.

"Pick on someone your own size." The girl with the red hood demands in a low voice. I imagine that Torchwick will tell her to step aside, that he doesn't want to get a kid involved. But when he chuckles mockingly and looks up to see who's trying to be the hero, he stops chuckling immediately. The cigarette in his mouth drops onto the table and goes out immediately. His eyes are surprised, awestruck… furious. Deadly. He's scowling at her this time, eye twitching as though he was a time bomb that was ready to explode way before it was meant to. I glance at the girl, who surprisingly keeps her ground as she pushes the boy back. She fairly shorter than him, but she towers over him in a sense. It's impressive. Torchwick's face slackens from his scowl as he puts his hand in his pocket, eyes dark and sociopathic. I react on impulse; I know exactly what he plans to do, and I quickly slide underneath my table just as Torchwick hurtles a bomb towards the boy and the girl.


	3. Chapter III

**Chapter III**

Now exposing myself to Sweet Tooth is not the smartest thing that I have done in my life. As the bomb flies to towards a shell shocked Jaune and I, I hear a lot of people scream and take cover behind their tables. I grab Jaune by the shirt, and I run behind the bar just as the bomb lands on the spot where we just stood. I hear a gunshot go off. I tackle Jaune to the floor just as it goes off and the floor shakes violently as the smell of smoke and the heat of fire suddenly overwhelm me. But Jaune holds me tightly as he rolls over so that my back's against the back of the bar as the screams are agonisingly loud with eyes close, pulling my head into his chest. I can hear Yang scream, and a part of me tells myself to run over to her and get her out of her, but his hold on me is pretty strong. The floor stops shaking and everything's still. There're few whimpers and wails from all over the place. Jaune looks over his shoulder.

"...Is he gone?" He asks fearfully. I wriggle myself free and look over the bar. The place is just... awful. There's blood splattered across the walls, with some people lying not too far from where the blast was, some of them whole and groaning in agony, but there are one or two that seem to have chunks of them missing. The people cower under their destroyed tables, food all over the place. People not too close remain in one piece, like Mr Schnee, who comes up from under his table trembling, looking both ways before suddenly bolting it out of the room with a few dozen in a sudden panic. Jaune looks over the bar, white faced and looking as though ready to throw up.

"My uncle's gonna freak out so much." He groans. I can't help but feel majorly responsible as I place a hand on his shoulder.

"I - erm - I can help repair the place if you need help." I offer apologetically. But Jaune suddenly starts to snicker as he shakes his head at me. I'm guessing I just got rejected. He turns his head to me. His eyes grow wide and focus on my arm.

"You're bleeding." Jaune says in shock. I look down to see my arm sporting a deep gash and bleeding heavily even though I don't feel any pain. It's probably the adrenaline rush that I'm having why I don't feel anything at the moment.

"I am bleeding. Hmm. Who knew." I say with a strained chuckle as Jaune grabs a nearby and somehow clean cloth and starts wrapping it around my arm.

"You should have just not got involved." Jaune sighs.

"And let Sweet Tooth's cronies beat the shit out of you? No chance." I snap. Jaune looks at me with a stern face.

"I was just fine." Jaune says in a matter of fact tone.

"He threw coffee in your face." I retort.

"Not the first time I've had stuff thrown at me." He points out, looking a little bit broken. I freeze for a moment. Rewinding back two years, I remember when I first met Jaune. He was scrawny and pathetic to be around with, and it was a custom at school to throw anything you had in your hands at him to see him dodge. It started off with screwed up pieces of paper, pen lids, and erasers. But one day, the erasers were rocks. The pen lids were little balls of dirt. The paper balls were eggs. And I remember Jaune always trying to laugh it off, smiling and waving at everyone as they jeered at him. So, I decided that enough was enough. I approached him and told him that he shouldn't put up with that, because it could go one step too far. But he didn't mind. So I stayed with him during recess and lunch and whenever his class ended in order to make him feel safe.

"There. All patched up and not bleeding anymore." Jaune says, gently patting my arm. I smile at him.

"Thanks a lot, Jaune. You're a great friend." I add. His cheeks go pink as he smiles back at. Suddenly I'm crushed by Yang as she pulls my head into her chest.

"Oh my God I thought you were going to die right there! I told you not to do that and you fucking did you idiot-!" Yang wails.

"Can't. Breathe. Losing. Oxygen." I choke. Yang releases me quickly and smothers me in kisses as she trembles. I pat her awkwardly as she takes in shaky breaths before she pulls away and looks at me with her hands firm on my shoulders.

"We need to get you out of here." She says in a quiet panicked tone, steering me away from Jaune and towards the front door as people start to obviously stare at me.

"I'm fine, Yang." I say firmly. I look to see that the girl that I saw earlier today was now gone. I feel my heart sink slightly. But then Yang pulls my good arm as she quickly pulls me out of the restaurant. She stops in her tracks, but she doesn't need to explain it to me. On the edge of the sidewalk are four large men dressed in black with red tinted shades, holding guns in their arms tightly with scowls on their faces. My insides freeze as my hands fly to my pockets.

"Run." Yang hisses under her breath to me. I look at her. Did I just hear her right?

"Excuse me?" I ask. Yang rolls her eyes at me as the men start to get closer. She bends down to the hem of her dress and starts to pull it up slowly. I can't help but feel confused. But the next thing I know she pulls out a gun and pulls the trigger as if she's done it for years.

* * *

Running after my father down the alleyways has never proven to be so difficult, especially in a tight dress. My blade in hand and frame of mind still in one piece, I chase after him in the dark, my hair out of its bun and in its usual form. He runs fast for an old man, but as I see him become closer in my sight, he realises that he's not running fast enough. He grabs a garbage can and throws it in my path. I leap over it effortlessly and land on my feet as gracefully as I could. My bastard of a father makes a sudden turn and I try my best to make it, but I feel my feet slip on the gravel and I lose my balance for a split second. But I carry on running, and now it's now or never as I throw my blade at him. I run whilst watching the blade soar towards him, and I can't help but think how close I am to ending it all; the past, the nightmares, the corrupted future that could be possible. But the blade falters as my father runs faster than he has ever done and the blade falls to the ground. I dived for it and pull myself up from the ground smoothly, but there's no point. He's turned another corner, and I can hear screeching tires.

"Fucking _ASSHOLE_!" I screech, punching the wall next to me. My knuckles crack in agony, but I put the pain to the back of my mind. I was so close, so close to seeing that monster be put down for good. And now he's gone, all because of a sociopath and a brat. I start to walk down the street, stuffing my blade back in my bag as I walk past an alleyway. I turn my head for no particular reason and stop in my tracks. The girl with the red jacket is there, slumped on the floor with her eyes closed, her arm bleeding heavily as her skin slowly turns white. I'm in no mood to see her, let alone give her any aid. But yet I find myself approaching her slowly, until I'm crouching in front of her. I shake her shoulder gently, but then I feel I tight grip on my wrist as her eyes shoot wide open in a state of sudden panic.

"It's okay, it's okay." I say reassuringly, prying her hands from my wrist. She blinks at me in shock, as though she can't believe her not so lucky stars for sending me to her aid.

"Can you stand?" I ask. I don't know why I ask this, and when the girl nods, I don't know why I sling her arm around my shoulder and pull her up to her feet as I start to drag her down the street. She winces in pain, but besides from that says nothing to me. I glance at her in the streetlight. She looks young, but not too young; I'd say she's two years younger than me, most likely just turned sixteen. She has dark rings around her eyes. I had been chasing my father for a good half an hour, and with an injury like hers, I would expect her to be exhausted.

It's not long until we reach my car, and I find myself helping her into the back of the car, despite the fact she does nothing to fight back at me. She collapses onto the seats and sighs heavily as if in peace, and it's now I realise what I'm doing. Torchwick wants this girl dead, for reasons I don't know, but me helping her out like this won't do me much good in the long run. Although I would never work for him, it doesn't mean I underestimate him. But the girl opens her eyes at me and looks at me with grateful silver eyes, and I feel my heart race all of a sudden, but surely a kid like her shouldn't have this effect on me. I close the passenger door, and climb into the driver seat. As I start the car up whilst judging my irrational planning and that maybe it would be best if I just leave her where I found her, the girl looks at me through the front mirror.

"Thanks for helping me, even though you don't know me that well." She murmurs. I stay silent, trying to block her out so that I can concentrate and figure out what I'm going to do after I drive away with a bleeding girl in my car. The girl smiles at me weakly, a smile that if used to its best ability would melt any frozen heart and weaken the knees of the universe.

"I'm Ruby." She pipes to me weakly, eyelids fluttering. I look at her as she drifts off to sleep, head against the seat of the car. I swear underneath my breath. How I'm going to get out of the predicament I will never know.


	4. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV**

I wake up in cold sweat, just having a nightmare that involved last night with Yang. In the dream she pulled the trigger of the gun that she had, but instead of a bullet coming out, there was a thick cloud of smoke that surrounded us. It started choking me to the point where I couldn't breathe. I screamed for her to help me, to stop the smoke so that we could just run. But as she turned to look at me, her eyes were dark and menacing. As if she actually wanted me to die. But now I'm awake, lying on a slightly tacky sofa, my arm throbbing in agony as the memory of my wound from the restaurant ripping wider coming to mind. The bandage that Jaune had done has now been replaced, clean dressing and tightly wrapped. I lift my arm up slowly to look at the craftsmanship. Impressive.

"Feeling better?" A voice asks. I jump up from the sofa and turn around quickly. I freeze on the spot. The girl from last night is stood right in front of me, her hair draped down her back, dressed in a normal white shirt and black trousers and barefoot, and it looks as though we're roughly the same height as each other. She has a scar over her left eye. Her nails are perfectly kept. And I can't believe that I've started noticing the little things. She tilts her head at me.

"What was your name again, kid?" She asks me. I feel my cheeks go slightly red as I clear my throat.

"Ruby. My name's Ruby." I reply, slightly nervous of her stare. She nods at me slowly, as if replaying the name in her head.

"Ruby… not bad." She says to me, walking around the room. My cheeks go red again and I look around and notice a single bed in the corner tucked away next to a small closet. I turn my head to see a TV in the other corner, small and stood on a little coffee table. After a while it doesn't take me long to realise that I am in a motel room.

"How long have I been out of it?" I ask slowly, looking at her hesitantly. The girl shrugs her shoulders at me.

"Twelve hours, thirteen at the most. You slept like a log." The girl adds as she walks towards the TV.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"In the low district of the city. It was only because you needed to be tended to quickly." The girl replies. I nod as I rub my arm gently and it stings me a little, which causes me to flinch.

"Don't touch it, kid. You'll only make it worse for yourself." The girl calls out to me, her back to me and the TV on. I freeze on the spot I awe as I turn my head to her.

"How did you know that I was touching it?" I asked.

"Because it'd be the first thing _I'd_ do." She replies with a shrug of her shoulders, as she walks towards a chair close to the TV. On the chair I see my jacket, and I freeze as the girl reaches for my jacket and puts her hands in my pockets and pull out my gun and my knife.

"Now, why is a little kid like you keeping such dangerous toys in their pockets?" She asks, fiddling with the blade between her fingertips. I scowl at her, and I can tell that I'm slightly more intimidating as usual as I slowly approach her, hand outstretched.

"Give them _back_." I snarl. The girl looks at me, head tilted again, her lips only just parted, her eyes flickering over my profile.

"Why should I?" She asks me softly, walking closer towards. I feel my heart race in sudden anxiety, but I keep my ground as she's only a few inches or so away from my face. I take a deep breath.

"Because unlike you, _I_ can use them." I reply slowly. Her eyes flash at me, and the next thing I know she quickly tosses my gun in the air and I catch it clumsily. She twirls the blade between her fingers as she walks around me expertly, looking me up and down with a curious look on her face. I stay still and watch her walk around me, but it feels weird because it's as if she's floating around me due to how graceful she moves on her feet.

"So, why does Sweet Tooth want you dead?" She asks, her eyes on the knife, inspecting it closely, dragging a finger across the blade edge. I hesitate for a second.

"It's a long story." I reply, quickly reaching for my knife when the girl turns her head away from me. Her arms swings upwards into the air and holds it above our heads as I almost fall flat on my face. She looks at me with a taunting glare.

"You'll have to try harder than that, kid." She sneers. I glare at her darkly.

"I have a _name_, you know." I snap. She rolls her eyes at me, twirls the knife in her hands again before elegantly handing it back to me. I stare at her for a moment, expecting for her to move it out of my reach. But she stares at me expectantly, and I quickly snatch the knife from her with my other hand. She smirks at me and walks past me, brushing her shoulder against mine gently.

"Why does Sweet Tooth want your head on a spike? Did you snitch on him?" She asks. I shrug my shoulders.

"Not exactly." I reply.

"_Not exactly_?" She repeats, pulling out a pair of white inch high heeled boots and a white jacket.

"Well, remember his catastrophic heist last year at the Schnee Crystal factory; the heist where his men got beaten up by one of the citizens?" I ask. The girl looks at me with an amused and surprised expression on her face. A year ago, in the higher district, Sweet Tooth had took it upon himself to rob the largest diamond shop in the city. I remember being there when it happened, and instead of listening to him and his three cronies, I had decided to take it upon myself to both knock out his workers as well as blow holes in his car's tires so that he was stranded and very nearly arrested.

"That was _you_?" She asks. I nod at her sheepishly, cheeks red as she snickers loudly at me. But then she starts nodding slightly, a small grin on her face.

"Wow. No _wonder_ he wants you dead." She snickers softly, slipping into her jacket and pulling her boots on. She quickly plaits her hair and drapes it over her shoulder. I can't help but feel somewhat proud of myself for sounding impressed with me.

* * *

I drive us down the abandoned highway, sun blazing at us furiously as I break the speeding limit. Ruby sits in the back, arms crossed stubbornly with a slight scowl on her face. I decided to get her home, which she claims to be a block of apartments in the heart of the town, and I told her this when we were at the motel that I had found last night. And Ruby had decided to argue back with me and acted like the brat I thought she was, stating that it would be best for her to stay with me despite the fact that _A_) she looks as though she'd cause complications for me, and _B_) she would be in more danger in my company. Besides, I don't want a little kid ruining everything I've done so far. I look through my mirror to see Ruby stare at the ground, eyes dark.

"I don't _want_ to go back." She murmurs. I roll my eyes at her, and I'm not going to bother to reply to her. She kicks the back of my chair gently. She kicks it again gently. She's kicking the chair in rhythm, humming as she does so. I breathe in deeply through my nostrils, and I can feel my patience wearing thin. It's not long until we drive past the bar that I had visited yesterday. Three men are outside the bar, scowling as people pass by them. But they see my car drive past, and their face goes as white as my hair. I smirk to myself, but I look through my front mirror to see Ruby staring at me, eyes slightly wide and lips just parted. In all honestly, it's more than just odd.

"_What_?" I snap. She jumps slightly in her seat and blushes a little bit.

"Sorry." She gabbles, her eyes now on the floor in embarrassment. I roll my eyes as I carry on driving and as people slow down to a halt as a cruise down the street. Ruby looks through the window, her head tilted slightly.

"Why are they scared of you?" She asks. I try not to roll my eyes at her again.

"Are you serious? Do you know who I am?" I ask with a quiet snort, looking through the mirror and expecting her to look as though she knew who I was. But she looks at me with an expression so innocent and pure that even I'm thrown off guard. I slow the car down to a halt at a red light and I turn my head to look at her properly.

"You really don't know who I am?" I ask, surprised. She shakes her head at me. I nod at her slowly as her words starts to sink in. That explains why she didn't scream when I went to help her, why she insists on joining me: she doesn't actually know me at all. I don't notice that the light is on green, and when I do it starts to change. I carry on driving, and I don't whether to be intrigued or insulted.

"Should I know you?" Ruby asks after a while, as I take a left turn. I pause for a moment.

"You ever heard of Snow White?" I ask, looking at her through the mirror again. She nods at me uncertainly.

"Like, Snow White with the seven dwarves?" She asks. I shake my head at her.

"Not that one. The... not-so-nice one." I reply. She looks at me, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Are you the not-so-nice Snow White, then?" She asks me, her eyebrows raised in disbelief at me. I can't help but chuckle to myself at how naïve her tone sounds.

"I suppose you can say that, yes."


End file.
